Schools of Opportunity is a project that aims to recognize

public high schools State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

that minimize opportunity gaps with outstanding

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. The

National Education Policy Center The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) is a non-profit education policy research center located in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It was founded in 2010 and is funded by a variety of governmental organizati ...

, a non-profit education policy

research center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, created Schools of Opportunity as a project in 2014.

Mission

The Schools of Opportunity project gives annual "gold" and "silver" recognition to schools in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The project seeks to recognize those high schools that follow practices such as supporting students' physical and

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

health, having outreach to the community, and having a broad, enriched curriculum. It is built on criteria set forth in the 2013 book, Closing the Opportunity Gap. The Schools of Opportunity project believes that high quality schools are those that use research-based practices, and that

standardized testing A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...

mainly reflects the student's learning opportunities outside of school; therefore, the project does not focus on how effective the school is. That is, the project illustrates an alternative to ranking systems based on test score, which overwhelmingly reward schools that serve wealthy or cherry-picked student bodies. Schools submit initial applications explaining and documenting why they should be recognized with a reward. Then, after two online reviews and one school visit, the gold and silver recognitions are announced. In order to qualify for recognition, the school must be a public or charter school; it must enroll high school students; at least 10% of the school must qualify for free or reduced priced lunch; the percentage of students with Individualized Education Programs must not fall 2 or more points below the district where the school is located; the school must commit to ensuring all students have access to rich, challenging but supported learning opportunities; and it must be committed to non-exclusionary

discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

practices. While designated Schools of Opportunity do not receive extra funding, the directors of the project hope for them to serve as role models for other peers.

Origins

Schools of Opportunity was founded in 2014 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

by the National Education Policy Center and expanded across the

in 2015. The project has been funded by, among others, the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

, the NEA Foundation, and Voqal.

List of Recipients

References

{{reflist

External links

The Schools of Opportunity website
American education awards University of Colorado Boulder